Two Caramel Latte
by nana31rauna
Summary: A one-shot inspired by the Paily 5x11 pics and sneak peek. *SPOILER ALERT*


**Hey guys!**  
**I know I have "This Isn't Goodbye" to finish but it's on pause now.  
Hope you enjoy this one-shot inspired by the 5x11 Paily promo pics and that cute sneek peek!  
~English isn't my first language, I apologise for any grammatical error. Please comment! Thank you and enjoy!~**

**This one-shot is dedicated to my good friend, Ren-Mccullers :)**

It was a Thursday night and Emily was surprised by how quiet The Brew was, she was literally the only person in the shop. She looked around aimlessly when her eyes fell on the clock just sitting above the door, it was still an hour before closing time. Emily wondered why it was empty because it would usually be packed with all sorts of people. Since she had nothing to do so she went to wipe the empty tables just to kill time when her pocket vibrated, she took out her phone and there was a message that read:

'Emily I can't make it tonight, can you close up the shop later. The keys are in the office. Thanks - Zack'

Her eyes rolled as she finished reading the message. Emily was taken aback by how moody she had become. It wasn't because she had to clean up the shop by herself or closing the shop without any help, she actually enjoyed doing it alone sometimes. It was because of the conversation that took place earlier that morning at school between her and a particular swimmer she was once in extremely good terms with.

_'How's it feel to be back in the locker room?' The swimmer asked_

_'Feels good.. Seems like the only place I see you is at practice' Emily responded_

_'I know.. It's -' Paige tried explaining_

_'Complicated' Emily completed the other girl's sentence._

_'Paige, We need to talk. Maybe tonight?' Emily continued._

_'I've got something tonight, but, yeah, we should talk' Paige replied quickly._

Her mind quickly came back to the small cafe as she heard the door open. She quickly regained her composure and ran behind the counter to get her apron on. While she was busy tying her apron, the customer greeted:

'Hey Em'

'Paige?' Emily responded and turned around to face the customer. With a huge smile she continued, 'You came!' but her excitement died down as she glanced the stunning swimmer standing in front of her up and down because she was clearly dressed for a date. To hide her change in mood she complimented on her looks, 'Uhh wow you look beautiful. Very beautiful'

Paige smiled and her head dipped slightly, 'thanks, you're not too bad yourself'

Emily laughed at her response and asked the other swimmer, 'so.. Who's the lucky girl?' She was surprised by her boldness but she was too nervous to rephrase her question or reverse her action.

Paige smirked at how jealous it made Emily, 'I had dinner tonight and it finished early so I came here.. You know to talk for a bit'

Emily forced a smile and was annoyed by the answer Paige was giving. 'Oh okay. Sure, lets talk' she replied too eagerly.

'But before that can I get 2 caramel latte.. to go?' Paige requested.

'Oh, sure. Take a seat, I'll be back with your coffee' Emily replied, clearly annoyed.

Paige sat comfortably at one of the sofas close to where Emily was and her smile was growing as she thought about how jealous Emily had become. Her joy was intensified further as she thought about the voicemail Emily left a few nights ago.

'Here you go Paige. I'm sure your date is waiting for her coffee. We can talk next time' Emily said as she handed the two cups of hot coffee.

'Em.. The other one's for you' Paige replied as she took one cup and placed it on the table in front of her. 'And I had dinner with my dad' she continued and smiled like she won the lottery.

Emily dipped her head, trying hard to remove her growing smile that went from ear to ear. Her mood suddenly lifted and sat down next to Paige.

Paige who was clearly dominating the conversation started, 'So.. What did you wanna talk about?'

Emily looked up and their eyes connected. 'Paige.. I don't know where to start but I'll just begin by saying I'm really sorry. Sorry for going against you. But most of all for breaking us apart..' Her cheeks were now hot and wet with tears that never seemed to stop falling.

Paige couldn't stand watching Emily this way so she moved closer to her and wiped the tears from Emily's cheeks with her hands. 'Em.. Please don't cry, I hate seeing you like this. I know you are sorry and I am truly sorry for whatever Ali did to you but I'm not sorry for protecting you, even if it meant hurting our relationship .. or me' she stopped and her voice broke, her eyes were now filled with tears. She continued while cupping Emily's face, 'but the most important thing now is that you know the truth and that you're safe.. Em, I forgive you, I do.. I know you were confused.. You needed to figure things out, figure yourself out..' She stopped and continued again, 'Just know that I'm here for you, for whatever you need'

Emily began to cry even more so Paige pulled her closer and hugged her tight. 'It's okay Em.. We're here now.. away from A, away from Ali'

'Thank you Paige.. I love you' Emily whispered but regretted saying the last three powerful words, not because she didn't mean it but because she was afraid Paige would not feel the same, after all she put her through Emily wouldn't be surprised if Paige felt nothing for her anymore.

Paige finally responded after they both fell silent,

'I love you too, Em'

Emily was clearly wrong.


End file.
